My wife spotted this leaf on the ground near the Rock Creek Campground on the coast 1/15/17.
The way they were lined up was impressive and had us wondering what it is.
What's on this leaf?
- derwoodynck
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- kaltbluter
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Re: What's on this leaf?
Spores? But where did the rest go?
- derwoodynck
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Re: What's on this leaf?
I'd say you're right, maybe the frond broke off before all of them ripened? From the Hardy Fern Foundation: "In the Pacific Northwest, spores ripen from late May through October and will waft off like fine dust."
Re: What's on this leaf?
Those are the spores of leathery polypody (Polypodium scouleri).
Edit: Well, you can't actually see spores. What you see are the sori (singular: sorus) which contain the sporangia that are formed of spores (The latter are microscopic). These sori do not seem to be mature and are probably at the very beginning of their development, meaning that others could still pop up if this frond remains attached to the plant.
Edit: Well, you can't actually see spores. What you see are the sori (singular: sorus) which contain the sporangia that are formed of spores (The latter are microscopic). These sori do not seem to be mature and are probably at the very beginning of their development, meaning that others could still pop up if this frond remains attached to the plant.
Re: What's on this leaf?
I see the spores on the undersides of sword ferns in a much greater quantity.
In this photo, they look more like militant lady bugs about to come alive (think Invasion of the Body Snatchers). Interesting that they did not form all over the plant, just in these limited rows.
In this photo, they look more like militant lady bugs about to come alive (think Invasion of the Body Snatchers). Interesting that they did not form all over the plant, just in these limited rows.